[openbox] cannot get Openbox to start on Ubuntu 9.04

[Jesús Guerrero]

Hi,

> I thought the Ubuntu package comes with everything needed. I looked in
> the Xorg.0.log (under/var/log, I will attach it) and found some lines on
> "Macintosh mouse button emulation". I have a serial three button Logitech
> mouse attached to COM1.
>
>> What happens if you comment out "exec openbox" in your init file, and
>> then > run startx, is the mouse working?
>
> Then it goes back to the console after some seconds and reports some
> errors on setting tilling for front, back and depth buffer.

This actually has nothing to do with openbox.

The newer xorg releases use hal/evdev to retrieve and enable input devices,
mouse included. So, the keyboard and mouse sections of your xorg.conf
are no longer relevant, unless, as your logs say, you enable the
AllowEmptyInput option in your xorg.conf

I have absolutely no idea how Ubuntu handles the things, I am really
not into Ubuntu, too much obscurity and obfuscation for my tastes.
But whatever your problem is, it is surely related to hal, in your
logs you can read this:

=============================================
[...]
(II) Cannot locate a core pointer device.
(II) Cannot locate a core keyboard device.
(II) The server relies on HAL to provide the list of input devices.
        If no devices become available, reconfigure HAL or disable
AllowEmptyInput.
[...]
(II) config/hal: Adding input device Macintosh mouse button emulation
(II) LoadModule: "evdev"
(II) Loading /usr/lib/xorg/modules/input//evdev_drv.so
(II) Module evdev: vendor="X.Org Foundation"
        compiled for 1.6.0, module version = 2.1.1
        Module class: X.Org XInput Driver
        ABI class: X.Org XInput driver, version 4.0
(**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: always reports core events
(**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: Device: "/dev/input/event2"
(II) Macintosh mouse button emulation: Found 3 mouse buttons
(II) Macintosh mouse button emulation: Found x and y relative axes
(II) Macintosh mouse button emulation: Configuring as mouse
(**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: YAxisMapping: buttons 4 and 5
(**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: EmulateWheelButton: 4,
EmulateWheelInertia:
10, EmulateWheelTimeout: 200
(II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "Macintosh mouse button
emulation" (type:
MOUSE)
(**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: (accel) keeping acceleration scheme 1
(**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: (accel) filter chain progression: 2.00
(**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: (accel) filter stage 0: 20.00 ms
(**) Macintosh mouse button emulation: (accel) set acceleration profile 0
(II) config/hal: Adding input device AT Translated Set 2 keyboard
(**) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: always reports core events
(**) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: Device: "/dev/input/event3"
(II) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: Found keys
(II) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: Configuring as keyboard
(II) XINPUT: Adding extended input device "AT Translated Set 2 keyboard"
(type:
KEYBOARD)
(**) Option "xkb_rules" "evdev"
(**) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: xkb_rules: "evdev"
(**) Option "xkb_model" "pc105"
(**) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: xkb_model: "pc105"
(**) Option "xkb_layout" "se"
(**) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: xkb_layout: "se"
(**) Option "xkb_options" "lv3:ralt_switch"
(**) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: xkb_options: "lv3:ralt_switch"
(II) Macintosh mouse button emulation: Close
(II) UnloadModule: "evdev"
(II) AT Translated Set 2 keyboard: Close
(II) UnloadModule: "evdev"
=============================================

The new hal/evdev system is configured via .fdi files that usually
will live somewhere under /etc/udev/rules.d/ or something like that,
somewhere, inside a .fdi file you should be able to locate the stuff
about the X input devices, and there you will be able to configure
your mouse, it's probably picking the wrong driver for some reason.

Your other options are either downgrade to an older X release (if
ubuntu supports that at all, which I don't know), or use the
AllowEmptyInput clause in your xorg.conf file, and then configure
the mouse and kbd drivers the old fashion, using your xorg.conf
instead of the .fdi file.


-- 
Jesús Guerrero